Here’s somebody who’s figured out how to use the internet to market himself. His name’s Jack Schultz and he’s the CEO of Agracel, Inc., which is an industrial development firm, specializing in the agurban market. To find out what an agurban market is you need to read his book, “BoomTown USA.”
I say he’s got this internet thing figured out because there’s the Agracel, Inc. corporate website, then you’ve got the Boomtown USA book website, then you’ve got Jack’s blog, “BoomtownUSA” and you can subscribe to his e-zine “The Agurban.”
That’s a pretty tightly integrated and good looking package if you ask me.
Here’s an excerpt from the last issue of The Agurban:
Turning a one-horse town into a team-driven wagon
And hopefully that wagon is headed forward! Does your community’s economy, it’s very existence, rely on one or two companies wrapped up in the same industry? Have you ever wondered what will we do if XYZ Company closes, leaves, shuts down? But you quickly turn your thoughts elsewhere, before the panic sets in, thinking, “Oh, that could never happen to us, they’ve always been here, they’re not going anywhere.” WRONG! Having an economy that relies heavily on one industry is a scary if not suicidal economic development strategy. You have to diversify.
High Point, NC (pop 90,000) is famous for being the furniture capital of the world. They have two shows/year when they have 80,000 buyers from around the world into the town for a full week. It is estimated to bring in over $1.1 billion and is the largest economic development event in the state each year. In addition to having a furniture cluster in High Point, they also have a fabric cluster and even a photography cluster. They have 14 photo studios and have more studio square footage than ANY other city in the US.
For the rest of the story you’ll have to subscribe or contact Jack Schultz.